A multi-agency funding bill signed into law Nov. 18 by President Obama makes cuts to the amount of money the Justice Department chief information officer will have at command during this fiscal year.

The bill, dubbed the "minibus" since it combines three appropriations bills into one, gives Justice's information sharing technology budget line $44.3 million, far less than the $54.3 million the department had requested and less than the $60.16 million it received during the last fiscal year.  

The budget line is a centralized account under the control of the DOJ chief information officer. Among the programs that it funds is the Law Enforcement Sharing Program, a Justice-wide effort to share information about terrorism, criminal activity, and threats to public safety. Also under the info sharing budget line is the Unified Financial Management System, the department's cybersecurity program, and the Joint Automated Booking System. JABS, like its name implies, automates the booking process for DOJ law enforcement components, and also interfaces with the FBI's Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System.

Congress also made additional cuts to the department's tactical law enforcement wireless communications budget line, which will get $87 million, as opposed to the $99.8 million approved by House appropriators. The line item in the past funded the Integrated Wireless Network, a planned nationwide interoperable wireless network for federal law enforcement--a project suspended except for rollout in the national capital region. 

The conference report, however directs Justice to submit a report on IWN that identifies "alternative funding sources and funding options" for a wireless network that would be secure and interoperable across law enforcement and first responder radio systems.

For more:
- go to the "minibus" conference report

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